She's Bad News

Chapter 12

Sorry I made you guys wait but I was super busy over the holidays...still am... Hope you like it

:)

Chapter 12

Corinna’s POV

Flynn didn’t say anything when we got into his truck and started to drive away. I kept my eyes glued to the small house with the rotting porch and the chipped paint, seeing Howie peeking through the window until we were out of sight.

We drove in silence as my heart pounded and my stomach roiled. I shifted slightly in my seat and I could smell marijuana in my hair, reminding me of everything that I’d left behind and everything that had been brought up by seeing her again.

My hand gripped my seatbelt tightly as we drove through the city, heading towards the section of town that my father lived in and still Flynn sat silently beside me, his eyes firmly on the road ahead of him and both his hands on the steering wheel. My gaze traveled over his long fingers, focusing on the veins and tendons running towards the top of his wrist, making me think of those same fingers between mine, keeping me steady as my heart cracked.

I tore my gaze from his hand and looked down at my own, a part of me wishing he was still touching me to keep the panic at bay. I winced when I thought of the pills he must have seen in Barb’s bag when I’d sifted through the contents and the way she’d stumbled around the table to get to me. A choked sound escaped from the back of my throat when I replayed the image of her falling into the chair before taking a long pull from the joint.

I was still thinking of the awful scene when Flynn moved suddenly and I flinched, bringing my hands up to shield my face but I lowered them when I realized that he was only reaching for the heat controls on his dash. My eyes met his and I felt a shock when I saw the rage in their depths, the light green colour darkening as his eyes followed my hands until they rested on my lap. His jaw tightened and his gaze met mine again just as someone behind us honked their horn and we both faced forward to see that the red light we’d been stopped at had turned green.

He let out a long breath and pressed on the accelerator, moving us forward and driving one handed as he reached out and turned up the heat, his eyes focused ahead of him once more, a muscle ticking in his jaw. I cleared my throat, wishing I could escape the tension in the vehicle but we were still a few minutes away from my house. “Cold?” I asked, unable to handle the silence any longer.

He shook his head and glanced over at me when he said, “You’re shaking.”

I gave a dismissive laugh and rubbed my shaking hands on the tops of my thighs, trying to collect my usual aloof attitude but finding it difficult. “I’m not cold, just restless. Actually, I could walk the rest of the way home if you wanted to drop me off. You can just tutor me tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone right now.”

My eyes connected with Flynn’s and the sincerity in his gaze made my heart clench and the threads of my control snap. “Pull over,” I croaked, the lump in my throat growing to mammoth proportions and I turned my face towards the window just as the first few tears started to stream down my cheeks. “Let me out.”

“No,” he said firmly, his voice strained with anger. “We’re almost home.”

 I gritted my teeth, keeping my gaze focused on the scenery passing by as I cried silent tears and prayed that he didn’t notice.

Finally, we pulled into my driveway and almost before we stopped I had the door open and I was out of the car, holding my bag in my hand and heading towards the house with a purposeful stride.